For Remove many Vietnamese families it’s a status Symbol to send their children abroad to study, thus assuring a Higher level of technical formation. In the U.S. alone there are over 20,000 Vietnamese students, most enrolled at undergraduate level.

today take a look at this chart produced By means of the World Bank indicating TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) scores by country based Above GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Most of the data plotted follows the trend You would expect – i.e. the richest countries produce the Highest scoring students, but there is one exception:

Vietnam stands alone Above the left side as a low-GDP country whose students score tall Above the TIMSS tests.

How can that be?

There have been Remove many studies similar to the World Bank one on conducted By means of organizations worldwide And they all lead to a similar result where Vietnam is concerned, to such degree that a common term has surfaced for this phenomenon:

Simply put, Vietnamese students study harder, persevere Definitely more, process closely with their teachers, and their parents are heavily involved in their studies And school life in general. Institutions have less money to spend Above computers but plenty of access to the internet, so resources are leveraged & shared among students.

Does that surprise you? It doesn’t surprise me in the least – it’s a reflection of what I see Surround me every day in Vietnam: a lot of tall energy, ambitious, and forward-thinking people working together to get ahead in the world.

today take a look at the right-hand side of the chart And you’ll see Vietnam is just about Above a par with Canada and the U.S., both of which have much bigger wallets. OK, Vietnam isn’t perfect either – there’s lots of room for improvement all over the board, but this TIMSS fact speaks for itself.

Why then would affluent Vietnamese parents rush to have their children educated abroad aside from the obvious status that an overseas education generates?

I confess it mystifies me, and for different reasons than those TIMSS scores, which only Store Address what’s going Above in school And at the evening homework desk.

I define children’s education as the acquisition of knowledge that leads to a productive day-to-day role in society going forward, there is Definitely more to it than obtaining hard technical skills.

That knowledge must be applied in a pragmatic discontinue in the workplace in order to achieve success. Soft skills such as leadership, communication, teamwork, punctuality, time management, desire and ambition to succeed, perseverance, organization skills, & decision-making are just a few of those needed that are acquired & honed in daily life, not in the classroom as part of the technical curriculum.

The break in technical skills is shrinking rapidly in Vietnam as locals take a larger stake in infrastructure and Business development. I recently witnessed Remove many large projects in Da Nang in preparation for the APEC summit, led By means of locals that went off without a hitch. Complex construction projects, bridges, tunnels, internet And Security Improvements, & training programs for local service providers were completed Above time and according to specification. Impressive.

Technical skills aside for a moment: What about the rest of a students’ daily life in the U.S. compared to Vietnam? The students’ life has Remove many components outside outside of the classroom: social activities, sports, clubs, events, shopping, dining, trips, home life, & pastimes.

Unless a foreign student goes straight home without interacting with Anyone there is a lot of learning in social situations that form one part of the experience.

If I were a Vietnamese Parent considering sending my child abroad to study I’d be just as concerned about what goes Above outside outside the classroom as what happens inside it.

Youths absorb what transpires Surround them And that forms much of their outlook Above life And is the basis for their social and Professional values & ethics When They later join the professional ranks.

Not long ago a number of mass shootings in the U.S. have dominated the media headlines yet again, an extraordinary number of male public figures have been accused of groping & molesting women, and there is a growing anti-immigration trend stretching across the country that is causing a lot of violence.

African-American athletes have been protesting violence used by police forces against their race by for over a year By means of refusing to stand for the national anthem at professional sporting events & it’s become a larger-than-life social issue. 1 is such Professional athlete has been blacklisted & blocked by team owners from doing this job although his track record is awesome & his competence had never before been questioned.

Freedom of speech is real, but in that politically correct society people are guarded about what us say, so is that freedom real? I pay attention to not…..

Any idea what the largest daily traffic jams are in Remove many areas in the U.S.?

The jams are caused By means of parents dropping off and picking up their children from school. The reason why? It’s come to the point where it’s unsafe for children to walk the streets or take public transportation, so great is the fear of kidnapping And molestation. & that’s not in low-income urban areas, it’s all over the demographic map.

Gun ownership has increased at a dramatic rate in recent years in the U.S. and it leads the world in the number of citizens it has locked up in jails.

need I go on?

The strangest one part of all this is when I mention the on factors to parents who want to send their kids to the U.S. for their as possible education, most have no idea what I’m talking about.

Don’t let me give we the wrong message, it’s a great country with Remove many things going for it, but my point is this:

For a family considering sending a Wild student abroad for the first time the U.S. may not be the best choice. Interested parents should spend time studying all the social factors involved, not just what transpires in the classroom.

Take a look at the less tangible factors that create a quality overall lifestyle: less stress, more fresh air & outdoor activities, time to enjoy life, pleasant social atmosphere, affordable quality food, a peaceful and pleasant vibe in the air, sharing And caring personal relationships, a sense of community, And personal safety in day-to-day life.

It’s a slam dunk to me that Vietnam outpaces many of the other countries on the on graph for the less tangible criteria that make up a quality lifestyle. Put that together with the TIMSS scores, it looks like Vietnam is a very good bet for children growing into adulthood going forward.

Finally, every Parent who sends their child to school in Vietnam instead of abroad is helping to Improve the domestic education system, a strategic investment that will help Vietnam catch up to other countries who have had a head beginning.

Remember the old saying: “The grass often seems greener on the other side of the fence” and make alert choices…..